There was a response to Jonah Goldberg over at the Corner from an anonymous guy who said he was a military doc. Part of it read:

Jonah,
I apologize for the anonymity, but as I am a military doc I would prefer to lay a bit low. If you want, I can provide bona fides separately.

However, there are some points of contention regarding the fact impaired New Yorker-via-Reuters story you referenced. I don't have access to the New Yorker article, but have seen it summarized on line. From these, I would like add some facts that make the story pretty dang benign and hardly the shocking waste of taxpayer dollars the spin of the article seems to be. The tenor that Sergeant Baggadonuts and/or Mrs. Major Zotz can just waltz over to the nearest military hospital and get nipped, tucked, vacuumed, or pumped up, is both bogus and irksome.

Anyway, he goes on to point out these hospitals have teaching programs, and certifications are necessary for their plastic surgeons just like the civs.

Frankly the one that convinced me was his comment on the number of lipos and breast enhancement surgeries using the numbers (in the article) amount to 457 and 162 a year. Not a lot when you compare to an active force and dependents of 1.4 million, and retirees eligible make that 4.2 million. I would agree, just using that argument alone.

Your comment about reconstruction (after mastectomy makes sense too) is certainly valid. But then your points usually are!

Big tits on our female soldiers. Very sexy. That's good.

"I don't understand the free boob job thing.
Anyone have any ideas?"

Um, morale boost?

I have military health care as a retiree's spouse. (and we do pay for it - even though when John signed up, health care was supposed to be free for life)
If I was to get breast cancer, I would really want the plastic surgeon who would reconstruct my breast to have experience and be board certified.
For a surgeon to be board certified, he or she has to do so many procedures every year.
This is why very few boob jobs are done each year - so these good military docs, who don't get paid half of what civilian docs get paid - can get and keep their board certification.

Thans Beth!

I knew there had to be a good reason for it. That totally makes sense now.

Whoops, I dropped my "k" in thanks. :-)

Agreed, its good to have a backup plan for the possiblity of reconstructive surgery if needed. Also, enhanced breastcicles could further ones financial security after serving the country, by way of Playboy's MessOpotamia spread, coming soon, to be sure. ;)

I find this a little hypocritical coming from the Queen. One who is blessed by God with genetic perfection ought not to be maligning any attempts by other, lesser women, to improve themselves.

Gee, Rosemary, doesn't Dean get jealous of all this manly attention at times?

Hel--loooo? The totally authentic reference to the doctor story didn't do anything for anybody here?

tough room!

In a not unusual military snafu, Master Sargeant David Rohrbaugh, who was scheduled for an eye lid lift, laser contouring of his lip line and rhinoplasty,is now the possesor of the 565th Military Police Battalions largest breasts.
M/Sgt.Rohrbaugh said "At first I was distressed, but found I was warmly accepted by troops and officers of both genders. I have been awarded a special uniform allowance and am being sent TDY to the Pentagon, duties to be announced later."

Okay, I suppose I'm just feeling grouchy today, but I'm a little pissed at the sniping on this - especially after the explanations.

Like Beth I'm the wife of a retired officer and like her, I pay a fair premium for health care in the military system. It's not a boondoggle, guys. I was diagnosed as needing knee surgery last October ... the surgery was finally done in March and only then because the surgeon agreed to give up one of his rare days off to do it for me.

Why rare days? Because he and the other orthopedic surgeons at that army facility have been ibusy repairing soldiers who get hurt in training. Lots of airborne and rangers coming up with torn ligaments, cartilege etc. As a military wife, I was waaayyy down the priority list -- and that's how it should be.

Want big numbers of elective surgeries? Try lasik and other vision corrections. A whole lot of West Point firsties (seniors) are having this done, with Army permission, so that they don't have to deal with contacts or glasses in places like Iraq.

I actually got smaller guns courtesy of my military service. They were hurting my back.

My surgery was done by the VA Hospital in Long Beach CA. This VA has no plastic surgeons on staff. They have to contract private-practice plastic surgeons for six month periods.

Geez Rose, with your rack, no wonder you were unsympathetic. I just worry that this is the same outfit that buys $700 ash trays. Can you imagine the markup for Armed Services Committee approved, R&D evaluated, Pentagon Brass vetted and Security cleared boobs. Everybody in Washington will have their hands all over this. ;-)

Now of course if this is all a cover for a CIA Fembot boob-gun, then it's worth all the cost, as long as our troops get the proper hands-on training.

OK, I'll stop now and go take my medication...

Mark said "boobs!" That rocks! Heh-heh-heh.

You gotta admit, Mark, that entire divsions of Angie Harmon, Jennifer Aniston, or Halle Berry clones is worth the, ah, "big" budget. :)

Lends a whole new meaning to "be all you can be, in the Army!"

Beth: Gee, Rosemary, doesn't Dean get jealous of all this manly attention at times?

Nope. I just enjoy the other guys' jealousy.

Enjoy fellas! You can look but you can't touch! :-)

Dean, that's not jealousy, that's admiration for the eighth (and ninth) wonders of the world!

I admire Dean
For marrying the Queen.